Dub

Connect short-link clicks to downstream lead and sale events through one attribution layer

Dub's core value is not the shortened URL itself but the ability to relate link traffic to downstream business events. The README presents Short Links, Conversion Tracking, and Affiliate Programs as the product's three pillars, while the implementation records click events and later resolves lead and sale events against customers. This supports attribution from ads, social posts, newsletters, or partner links through signup and purchase instead of stopping at page-view analytics.

Sources: [1][3]

Manage partner programs and commissions as an extension of conversion attribution

The affiliate layer contains models and workflows for Programs, Partners, Customers, and Commissions, including logic that evaluates rewards from lead and sale events. Rather than exporting conversion data to a completely separate affiliate system, Dub can preserve the relationship between a partner link, the acquired customer, later revenue, and the commission generated from that revenue. That shared event chain is a major distinction from conventional short-link managers.

Sources: [1][4]

Use an API-first architecture to connect signup, purchase, CRM, and product events

The repository includes an OpenAPI definition describing Dub as an API for short links, conversion tracking, and affiliate programs. The web application is built around Next.js, TypeScript, and Prisma, while event analytics is implemented with Tinybird and short-lived event state is also cached through Redis-style infrastructure. The architecture is designed for product teams to send lead and sale events from their own applications and connect attribution to CRM, billing, and other operational systems.

Sources: [1][2][3]

For SaaS and commerce teams that need to connect marketing traffic to customer revenue and partner payouts

Dub is a strong fit when click counts alone are insufficient and the business needs to measure signup conversion, purchase value, customer value, and partner-generated revenue. It is particularly useful for SaaS, ecommerce, developer products, and newsletter businesses with multiple campaigns or partner programs that want a common attribution model for traffic, customers, revenue, and rewards. If the only requirement is generating short URLs and viewing basic click counts, the conversion and partner infrastructure may be unnecessary complexity.

Sources: [1][4]

Self-hosting involves several surrounding data services, and the repository follows an open-core license model

The README lists a production stack that includes Next.js and Prisma alongside Upstash, Tinybird, PlanetScale, NextAuth, BoxyHQ, Stripe, Resend, and Vercel. A self-hosted deployment is therefore not simply a single application container: database, event analytics, cache, email, authentication, payments, and deployment concerns need equivalents or configured services. Click, lead, and sale analytics also rely on Tinybird datasources and pipes maintained in the repository, making the event analytics layer a material part of the deployment architecture.

Dub is open core. Code outside explicitly designated Enterprise directories such as apps/web/app/(ee) is licensed under AGPLv3, while those Enterprise directories use the Dub.co Commercial License and require a valid Enterprise subscription for production use. Teams operating modified AGPL code as a network service should account for AGPL source-availability obligations, and deployments that include Enterprise functionality must separately comply with the commercial license.

Sources: [1][5][6][3]